Electronic component sourcing user interface

ABSTRACT

A method for generating a graphical user interface for electronic component sourcing includes displaying a price axis, displaying a time axis perpendicular to the price axis, and plotting a plurality of data points with respect to the price axis and the time axis, each of the data points corresponding to an offer to sell the electronic component and defining an ordered pair having a first value, plotted along the price axis, representative of a unit price and a second value, plotted along the time axis, representative of a lead time. The method may further include displaying a purchase order panel, adjacent to the price and time axes, by which a user may initiate a purchase of the electronic component according to a selected offer and populating the purchase order panel with the unit price according to the selected offer in response to a user interaction with a corresponding data point.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/506,653, filed on Jul. 9, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/134,804, filed on Sep. 18, 2018, now U.S.Pat. No. 10,395,306, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/662,677, filed on Apr. 25, 2018, the entirecontents of which are all expressly incorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to electronic componentsourcing, and more particularly, to a graphical user interface forelectronic component sourcing.

2. Related Art

In the age of e-commerce, purchasers of electronic components are ableto place orders with competing vendors of any size located anywhere inthe world. Such freedom of choice puts additional strain on resources aspurchasers have to compare various factors across a high number ofcandidate vendors when choosing a vendor for a particular purchase.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure contemplates various systems, methods, andapparatuses for overcoming the above drawbacks accompanying the relatedart. A graphical user interface displays a matrix of competing offers ofan electronic component of interest, each offer represented by a datapoint plotted with respect to a unit price axis and a lead time axis. Byviewing the matrix, a person can immediately ascertain which offers aremost attractive in terms of unit price and lead time and can intuitivelyweigh offers against one another, even in cases where one offer may havea better unit price while the other has a better lead time. When theperson wishes to place an order for an electronic component, he/she maysimply click, tap, or otherwise interact directly with a data point onthe matrix to select an offer. In response to the person's selection, apurchase order panel adjacent to the matrix is populated with thedetails of the selected offer. The person may then proceed with thepurchase or select a different offer.

One aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure is anon-transitory program storage medium on which are stored instructionsexecutable by a processor or programmable circuit to perform operationsfor generating a graphical user interface for electronic componentsourcing. The operations include displaying a first axis marked in unitsof price, displaying a second axis marked in units of time, the secondaxis perpendicular to the first axis, and plotting a plurality of datapoints with respect to the first axis and the second axis, each of theplurality of data points corresponding to an offer to sell theelectronic component and defining an ordered pair having a first value,plotted along the first axis, representative of a unit price of theelectronic component and a second value, plotted along the second axis,representative of a lead time associated with purchasing the electroniccomponent. The operations may further include displaying a purchaseorder panel, adjacent to the first and second axes, by which a user ofthe graphical user interface may initiate a purchase of the electroniccomponent according to a selected offer and populating the purchaseorder panel with the unit price of the electronic component according tothe selected offer in response to a user interaction with acorresponding one of the data points.

The operations may include displaying an offer list, each item of theoffer list corresponding to one of the plurality of data points. Theoperations may include positioning an indicator with respect to an itemof the offer list in response to a user interaction with a correspondingone of the data points. Each item of the offer list may include adisplay of any price breaks associated with the corresponding offer.Each item of the offer list may include a purchase order quantity inputfield and a display of a subtotal that is calculated in response to aquantity entered by a user in the purchase order quantity input field,the calculation of the subtotal taking into account any price breaksassociated with the corresponding offer. Each item of the offer list mayinclude a display of a minimum order quantity and a minimum packagingquantity associated with the corresponding offer, and the purchase orderquantity input field may prevent entry of a quantity that violates theminimum order quantity or the minimum packaging quantity.

The purchase order panel may include a purchase order quantity inputfield and a display of a subtotal that is calculated in response to aquantity entered by a user in the purchase order quantity input field,the calculation of the subtotal taking into account any price breaksassociated with the selected offer. The purchase order panel may includea display of a minimum order quantity and a minimum packaging quantityassociated with the selected offer, and the purchase order quantityinput field may prevent entry of a quantity that violates the minimumorder quantity or the minimum packaging quantity.

Each of the plurality of data points may be a different color, and thepurchase order panel may include an element whose color changes to matchthe color of the data point corresponding to the selected offer.

The operations may include displaying a filter menu by which a user ofthe graphical user interface may limit the plurality of data points inaccordance with one or more chosen filters. The filter menu may includeone or more filters selected from the group consisting of full factorypackaging, partial factory packaging, manufacturer direct vendor,franchised distributor vendor, stock delivery, lead time delivery, tapeand reel packaging, cut tape packaging, tray packaging, tube packaging,ammo packaging, bulk packaging, and manufacturing date code more thantwo years old. The plurality of data points may be limited to apredetermined number in accordance with a selected ranking criterion.The filter menu may allow the user to designate the selected rankingcriterion from among one or more ranking criteria. The one or moreranking criteria may include lowest unit price and shortest lead time.The one or more ranking criteria may include a best offer criterion thatis a function of unit price and lead time. The operations may compriseadjusting the first axis and the second axis to accommodate a change inthe plurality of data points in response to a user interaction with thefilter menu.

Another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure is a methodof generating a graphical user interface for electronic componentsourcing. The method includes displaying a first axis marked in units ofprice, displaying a second axis marked in units of time, the second axisperpendicular to the first axis, and plotting a plurality of data pointswith respect to the first axis and the second axis, each of theplurality of data points corresponding to an offer to sell theelectronic component and defining an ordered pair having a first value,plotted along the first axis, representative of a unit price of theelectronic component and a second value, plotted along the second axis,representative of a lead time associated with purchasing the electroniccomponent. The method may further include displaying a purchase orderpanel, adjacent to the first and second axes, by which a user of thegraphical user interface may initiate a purchase of the electroniccomponent according to a selected offer and populating the purchaseorder panel with the unit price of the electronic component according tothe selected offer in response to a user interaction with acorresponding one of the data points.

The method may include displaying an offer list, each item of the offerlist corresponding to one of the plurality of data points.

Another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure is a systemfor generating a graphical user interface for electronic componentsourcing. The system includes a server in communication with a userdevice and a program storage medium on which are stored instructionsexecutable by the server to perform operations for generating agraphical user interface for electronic component sourcing, thegraphical user interface accessible by the user device via a web browseror mobile application of the user device. The operations includedisplaying a first axis marked in units of price, displaying a secondaxis marked in units of time, the second axis perpendicular to the firstaxis, and plotting a plurality of data points with respect to the firstaxis and the second axis, each of the plurality of data pointscorresponding to an offer to sell the electronic component and definingan ordered pair having a first value, plotted along the first axis,representative of a unit price of the electronic component and a secondvalue, plotted along the second axis, representative of a lead timeassociated with purchasing the electronic component. The operations mayfurther include displaying a purchase order panel, adjacent to the firstand second axes, by which a user of the graphical user interface mayinitiate a purchase of the electronic component according to a selectedoffer and populating the purchase order panel with the unit price of theelectronic component according to the selected offer in response to auser interaction with a corresponding one of the data points.

The operations may include displaying an offer list, each item of theoffer list corresponding to one of the plurality of data points.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodimentsdisclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the followingdescription and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like partsthroughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows an example electronic component sourcing graphical userinterface (GUI) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a close-up view of an offer matrix of the electroniccomponent sourcing GUI of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows an example electronic component sourcing apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows an example operational flow according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 shows an example of a computer in which the electronic componentsourcing apparatus of FIG. 3, the operational flow of FIG. 4, and/orother embodiments of the disclosure may be wholly or partly embodied.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure encompasses various embodiments of systems,methods, and apparatuses for generating a graphical user interface forelectronic components sourcing. Referring to FIG. 1, an electroniccomponent sourcing graphical user interface (GUI) 100 may include anoffer matrix region 110 where a plurality of data points 113 aredisplayed representing competing offers to sell an electronic componentof interest. The data points 113 may be displayed as a sourcing grid oroffer matrix plotted with respect to a unit price axis 111 and a leadtime axis 112. For example, each of the data points 113 may define anordered pair having a first value that is representative of a unit priceof the electronic component and a second value that is representative ofa lead time associated with purchasing the electronic component, withthe first value being plotted along the unit price axis 111 and thesecond value being plotted along the lead time axis 112.

When a user is deciding which vendor to use for the electroniccomponent, the offer matrix may serve as an intuitive visual aid forcomparing offers. At a glance, a user may immediately see which offersare the least expensive and which offers have the shortest lead times.Moreover, since the offer matrix provides a visual representation of howmuch the unit prices and lead times differ between offers, the user mayalso easily compare competing offers in a situation where one has abetter unit price and the other has a better lead time. When the userhas made up his/her mind and would like to purchase the electroniccomponent, the user may click, tap, or otherwise interact with the datapoint 113 of the selected offer to automatically populate an adjacentpurchase order panel 120 with the details of the selected offer. Theuser may then enter a desired quantity in a quantity input field 123 ofthe purchase order panel 120 and press an “Add to cart” button 125 toproceed with the purchase.

As shown in FIG. 1, the selected data point 113 a (i.e. the data point113 of the selected offer) may be circled, highlighted, or otherwisemarked to clearly indicate which data point 113 is selected. Asillustrated by the diagonal fill markings in FIG. 1, the color,grayscale value, shape or other distinguishing characteristic of theselected data point 113 a may be replicated in a selected offer bubbleor other element 122 of the purchase order panel 120. In this way, theuser can easily understand which of the offers is currently representedin the purchase order panel 120 and the possibility that the user willinadvertently order the electronic component from the wrong vendor isreduced.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up view of the offer matrix region 110, where itcan be seen that each of the data points 113 may be a different color(or have a different distinguishing characteristic), with the currentset of colors etc. displayed in a palette 114. Similar to the datapoints 113 shown in the graph of the offer matrix region 110, the datapoints 113 shown in the palette 114 may be visually correlated orvisually identical to the data points 113 shown in the graph of theoffer matrix region so that the data points in the palette 114 can beidentified as being the same as or linked to the data points in thegraph of the offer matrix region 110. For example, the correspondingdata points on the graph and in the palette can be of the same color,shade of color, shape or other marking. The user may click, tap, orotherwise interact with the data point 113 located in the palette 114 toalso automatically populate the adjacent purchase order panel 120 withdetails of the selected offer just as it is in the case of the datapoints 113 in the graph portion of the offer matrix region. Also, whenthe user clicks, taps or otherwise interacts with the data point 113located in the palette 114, such action may highlight or identify thecorresponding data point in the graph of the offer matrix region. InFIG. 2, the different fills of each data point 113 may represent adifferent color. The palette 114 may be modifiable, for example, byclicking to open up a color selector tool, allowing the user todesignate which colors or other distinguishing characteristics are used(e.g. in case the user has difficulty distinguishing between certaincolors). As the user clicks on different data points 113 of the offermatrix region 110 or the palette 114, the circle or other markingindicating the selected data point 113 a moves to each newly selecteddata point 113 a and the color or other distinguishing characteristic ofeach newly selected data point 113 a is reproduced as the selected offerelement 122 in the purchase order panel 120 (see FIG. 1).

The palette 114 and the offer matrix region 110 may also be customizablein the following way. In the drawing, ten (10) data points 113 areshown. However it is also contemplated that any number of data points113 may be shown in the offer matrix region 110 and the palette 114. Forexample, in certain instances, the user may want to display fewer datapoints 113 or more data points 113. The user can have that option todisplay fewer or more data points 113. To accomplish this, the user maydouble click on the offer matrix 114 to bring up the option (e.g., popup screen) of displaying fewer or more data points 113. The data points113 shown in the palette 114 may operate or affect the purchase orderpanel 120 and the data points 113 shown in the graph of the offer matrixregion 110. By way of example and not limitation, when the user clickson one of the data points 113 shown in the palette 114, the selecteddata point 13 may become circled, highlighted or otherwise marked toclearly indicate which data point 113 in the palette is being selected.Moreover, the data point 113 shown in the graph of the offer matrixregion 110 corresponding to the selected data point 113 in the palette114 may also have a corresponding marking as the selected data point 113in the palette 114. Also, by selecting one of the data points 113 in thepalette 114, the selected offer bubble or element 122 in the purchaseorder panel 120 may also be updated to identically mimic the marking ofthe data point 113 in the palette and the graph of the offer matrixregion 110. In this way, all three of the data points 113 in the paletteand the offer matrix region 110 and the selected offer bubble or element122 are visually linked to each other so that the user can quicklyidentify which one is selected and no confusion exists between theinformation displayed in the purchase panel 120 and the offer matrixregion 110 and the palette 114.

The palette 114 is shown as being inside of the offer matrix region 110.However, it is also contemplated that the palette 114 may be positionedoutside of the offer matrix region 110 or inside or outside of thepurchase panel 120 so long as the palette 114, graph of the offer matrixregion and the purchase panel 120 are preferably viewable on a computermonitor at the same time. However, it is also contemplated that any twoof the three items (i.e., data point of the palette 114, data point onthe graph of the offer matrix region 110 or the selected offer bubble orelement 122) are on viewable on the computer monitor at the same time.

The electronic component sourcing GUI 100 may further include an offerlist 130. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the offer list 130 may bepositioned below the offer matrix region 110 with the purchase orderpanel 120 positioned to the right-hand side of the offer matrix region110. The offer list 130 may be a list of items (e.g. horizontal rows inFIG. 1) each of which corresponds to one of the data points 113 of theoffer matrix (possibly marked with a corresponding color from thepalette 114). In FIG. 1, list items corresponding to three of the tendata points 113 are omitted in order to save space in the drawing, butthe offer list 130 may include list items for all of the data points 113(displayed all at once or by scrolling, multiple pages, etc.). It iscontemplated that the list items in the offer list 130 may correspond tothe same number of data points 113 in the palette and the offer matrixregion. However, it is also contemplated that the number of list itemsmay be greater than or less than the number of data points 113. Forexample, there can be 10 data points 113 and 20 list items and viceversa. Whereas the offer matrix region 110 may provide the user with avisual way of comparing multiple offers, the offer list 130 may providea tabular list and also may provide additional details of each offer.For example, each item of the offer list 130 may include a lead time(e.g. days, weeks, months to order fulfillment or delivery), amanufacturing date code (e.g. week and year of production), a packagingtype (e.g. tape and reel, cut tape, tray, tube, ammo, bulk), anavailable quantity of the electronic component, and a unit price of theelectronic component including any information about price breaks (e.g.volume price). It is contemplated that the offer list 130 may displaylead time more specifically than the lead time axis 112 of the offermatrix region 110. For example, the offer list 130 may display lead timein days while the lead time axis 112 displays lead time in weeks (e.g.business weeks of five working days).

An expandable and collapsible price breaks button 131, located adjacentto the unit price for each item of the offer list 130, may be providedto display price break information. By interacting with a collapsedprice breaks button 131 (e.g. represented by a “+” symbol), a user mayexpand the price breaks button 131 to an expanded state (e.g.represented by a “−” symbol) as shown, causing the list item to increasein size within the offer list 130 to accommodate the expanded area forproviding price break information. With this functionality provided inthe offer list 130, a user can take into consideration price breaks whenselecting an offer or a purchase quantity.

The offer list 130 may be displayed as a table where each list item is arow and the information of the offer is organized into columns withcolumn headings (e.g. “lead time,” “date code,” “packaging type,”“quantity available,” and “unit price”) as shown in FIG. 1. The offerlist 130 may include sorting functionality where the items (e.g. rows)may be sorted according to “lead time,” “date code,” “packaging type,”“quantity available,” and “unit price” by interacting with sort buttonssuch as the arrows shown next to each column heading in FIG. 1. In theexample of FIG. 1, the offer list 130 has been sorted by lead time withshorter lead times appearing earlier in the list. Runs of two or morelist items having the same lead time are sorted by unit price with lowerunit prices appearing earlier. This may reflect, for example, the userhaving sorted the offer list 130 by lead time after sorting the offerlist 130 by unit price. The order of items in the offer list 130 mayalso reflect a default or selected ranking criterion as described below.

As the user clicks on different data points 113 of the offer matrix andthe selected data point 113 a changes accordingly, a list item indicator132 moves correspondingly through the offer list 130 to be positioned onthe list item corresponding to the selected data point 113 a. In theexample of FIG. 1, the user has selected the data point 113 a having alead time of 3 days and a unit price of $0.82, so the list itemindicator 132 is positioned to indicate the same offer in the offer list130, allowing the user to view details of the offer beyond theinformation of the offer matrix. The list item indicator 132 may be adashed box or other outline as shown (which may grow or shrink dependingon the state of the price breaks button 131) or may be an arrow, dot,color, highlight, or any other indicator that clearly indicates aselected list item. As noted above, the purchase order panel 120 maypopulate to reflect the selected offer as each new data point 113 isselected. Thus, both the purchase order panel 120 and the list itemindicator 132 may simultaneously be updated to reflect the selected datapoint 113 a. It is further envisioned that the user may instead chooseto click, tap, or otherwise interact with items of the offer list 130directly to select another offer, in which case the list item indicator132 may move to the newly selected offer, causing a new data point 113to be marked as the selected data point 113 a in the offer matrix andthe purchase order panel 120 to be populated with the information of thenewly selected offer. In this way, a user may freely select offers usingthe offer matrix and/or the offer list 130 and the remainder of theelectronic component sourcing GUI 100 may be updated accordingly tosynchronize the information displayed in the offer matrix region 110,purchase order panel 120, and offer list 130.

Each item of the offer list 130 may further include functionality suchas a quantity input field 133, a subtotal that reflects the quantityentered in the quantity input field 133 (e.g. unit price multiplied byentered quantity modified by any price breaks), and an “Add to cart”button 135. When the user wishes to proceed with a purchase order,he/she may do so directly from the offer list 130 by entering thedesired quantity in the quantity input field 133 and clicking the “Addto cart” button 135. In this way, the user may freely place purchaseorders using either or both of the purchase order panel 120 and theoffer list 130.

When a user has selected an offer and is ready to place an order, theuser may enter a desired quantity using the quantity input field 123 ofthe purchase order panel 120 or the quantity input field 133 of theoffer list 130 as described above. The purchase order panel 120 andoffer list 130 may further include a display of a minimum order quantity(MOQ) and a minimum packaging quantity (MPQ) associated with each offer(e.g. included in the offer details 121 displayed in the purchase orderpanel 120). The quantity input field 123, 133 may prevent entry of aquantity that violates the minimum order quantity or the minimumpackaging quantity. For example, when an invalid entry is entered, theentered quantity may automatically be bumped down to the next highestquantity that satisfies the minimum order quantity and the minimumpackaging quantity. A warning may also be displayed indicating that theentered quantity was invalid and highlighting any automatic adjustmentfor the user or indicating that new entry must be made to the quantityinput field 123, 133. The subtotal 124, 134 may reflect the quantityentered in the quantity input field 123, 133 (e.g. unit price multipliedby entered quantity modified by any price breaks) after any suchadjustment.

The electronic component sourcing GUI 100 may further include a filtermenu 140 by which the user may limit the data points 113 in accordancewith one or more chosen filters. The filters may include, for example,packaging condition filters 141 such as full factory packaging andpartial factory packaging, vendor type filters 142 such as manufacturerdirect vendor and franchised distributor vendor, delivery preferencefilters 143 such as stock delivery and lead time delivery, packagingtype filters 144 such as tape and reel packaging, cut tape packaging,tray packaging, tube packaging, ammo packaging, and bulk packaging, anda date code filter 145 allowing the user to include or exclude offersfor electronic components having a manufacturing date code more than twoyears old. Additional example of filters may include, for example,reliability or popularity filters (e.g. vendors having an average userrating above a threshold, vendors having a number of user reviews abovea threshold, vendors having some reliability certification applied inthe industry, etc.), item-specific filters that relate to the technicalaspects of the specific electronic component, country/region of originfilters, etc. As shown in FIG. 1, some of the filters (e.g. packagingcondition filters 141, vendor type filters 142, delivery preferencefilters 143, and packaging type filters 144) may be organized intodrop-down menus or other selectors allowing a user to select individualfilters from a list or choose to select no filters within a givencategory (e.g. by selecting “All”). Other filters (e.g. date code filter145) may be selected by checking or unchecking a checkbox or radiobutton.

After having selected one or more filters, the user may click an applyfilters button 146 to apply the selected filters and limit the datapoints 113 accordingly. For example, rather than viewing all offers fora given electronic component, a user may wish to view only manufacturerdirect vendor offers sold in tube packaging. The user may select theappropriate vendor type filter 142 and packaging type filter 144 andclick apply filters 146, and the offer matrix will automatically beupdated to display only those data points 113 corresponding to offersmeeting the user's conditions. If the user would like to re-expandhis/her inquiry, a reset filters button 147 may be used to deselect allfilters and display a larger, unfiltered set of data points 113.

It is contemplated that, even with no filters applied, the electroniccomponent sourcing GUI 100 may display only a subset of data points 113out of all the available offer data. For example, the electroniccomponent sourcing GUI 100 may display only the most attractive offersaccording to a ranking criterion and a predetermined number of offers todisplay (e.g. 10, 20, 50, 100, etc.). Ranking criteria may include, forexample, unit price (e.g. the ten offers having the lowest unit priceafter filters are applied), lead time (e.g. the ten offers having theshortest lead time after filters are applied), and/or “best offer” asdescribed below. To this end, the filter menu 140 may further include aranking criterion selector 148 (e.g. a drop-down menu) that allows theuser to designate the selected ranking criterion from among one or moreranking criteria. While it is not specifically shown in FIG. 1, it isfurther envisioned that the predetermined number of offers (e.g. 10, 20,50, 100, etc.) may also be designated by the user. The ranking criterionselector 148 may have a default setting (e.g. “best offer” as shown inFIG. 1) on the basis of which the data points 113 are initiallygenerated. Thereafter, when the user selects a different rankingcriterion using the ranking criterion selector 148, the offer matrixwill automatically be updated to display only those data points 113corresponding to the most attractive offers according to the selectedranking criterion. In this way, the electronic component sourcing GUI100 may adjust as the relative importance of unit price and lead timevary from user to user and from purchase order to purchase order. Forexample, a user who is relatively unconcerned with lead time for a givenpurchase may wish to consider only those offers having the lowest price.

It is further contemplated that, with a large database of offers, theremay be offers that are the same in all but one respect, such that oneoffer is for all intents and purposes inferior to the other (e.g. twooffers with the same packaging type, same unit price, etc. but differentlead time). The electronic component sourcing GUI 100 may omit suchinferior offers. Along the same lines, the electronic component sourcingGUI 100 may omit duplicate offers.

The “best offer” ranking criterion may be defined to reflect a balancebetween unit price and lead time. As such, the “best offer” criterionmay rank offers by a value that is a function of unit price and leadtime. For a given offer represented by a data point defining an orderedpair of unit price and lead time, such value may, for example, be aposition of the data point on a Cartesian plane, such as a distance ofthe data point from the origin, which may be expressed as

√{square root over (p ² +t ²)}

where p is the unit price of the offer in price units (e.g. dollars) andt is the lead time in time units (e.g. 1 day). According to the “bestoffer” criterion, the most attractive offer may be the offer thatminimizes this value, which may be expressed as

$\min\limits_{t,p}\left\{ \sqrt{p^{2} + t^{2}} \right\}$

or, if some maximum unit price p_(target) and/or maximum lead timet_(target) is applied as an additional constraint,

$\min\limits_{{t \leq t_{target}},{p \leq p_{target}}}\left\{ \sqrt{p^{2} + t^{2}} \right\}$

where offers exceeding a maximum unit price or a maximum lead time areexcluded. The selection of price units and time units, as well as theform of the function itself, may be optimized so that the function ispredictive of how a customer would rank the attractiveness of theoffers. To this end, machine learning may be employed based on feedbackof which offers are actually selected for purchase (by all customers orby the particular customer). Designation of a maximum unit pricep_(target) and/or maximum lead time t_(target) may be made by a user. Insome cases, for example, the capability of a user to designate a maximumunit price p_(target) and/or maximum lead time t_(target) may be limitedto when the user requests electronic component sourcing based on anuploaded bill of materials (BOM) and may be unavailable when a user onlyconducts a single part search. It is also contemplated that the maximumunit price p_(target) and/or maximum lead time t_(target) may be set tobe 10% higher than a value input by a user, in order not to excludeoffers that are very close to meeting the user's requirements.

Most attractive offers according to unit price, lead time, and bestoffer ranking criteria may be formally defined as follows, with Vmeaning “for all,” s.t. meaning “such that,” and E meaning “in (elementof).” Given a set N of n tuples of prices p and lead times t,{p_(i),t_(i)}, 1≤i≤n, a best price may be defined as:

${{{\min\limits_{i,j}{p_{i}\mspace{14mu} {s.t.\mspace{14mu} t_{i}}}} \leq {t_{j}\mspace{14mu} {whenever}\mspace{14mu} p_{i}}} = p_{j}},{i \neq {j\mspace{11mu} {\forall i}}},{j \in N}$

where the tuple with the smallest unit price is picked and the tuplewith the smaller lead time is picked whenever two tuples have the sameunit price.

A fastest delivery may be defined as:

${{{\min\limits_{i,j}{t_{i}\mspace{14mu} {s.t.\mspace{14mu} p_{i}}}} \leq {p_{j}\mspace{20mu} {whenever}\mspace{14mu} t_{i}}} = t_{j}},{i \neq {j\mspace{11mu} {\forall i}}},{j \in N}$

where the tuple with the smallest lead time is picked and the tuple withthe smaller unit price is picked whenever two tuples have the same leadtime.

A best offer may be defined as the tuple with the smallest Euclideandistance from the origin:

$\min\limits_{i}\sqrt{p_{i}^{2} + t_{i}^{2}}$

where the Euclidean distance d of a point (x,y) from the origin may bedefined as:

d=√{square root over (x ² +y ²)}

Other examples of ranking criteria include “best offer by unit price,”which may rank offers according to a function of unit price and leadtime that more strongly weights unit price, e.g.

$\min\limits_{{t \leq t_{target}},{p \leq p_{target}}}\left\{ {\sqrt{p^{2} + t^{2}} + p} \right\}$

in which an additional p term causes offers with low unit prices to beranked as more attractive, and “best offer by lead time,” which may rankoffers according to a function of unit price and lead time that morestrongly weights lead time, e.g.

$\min\limits_{{t \leq t_{target}},{p \leq p_{target}}}\left\{ {\sqrt{p^{2} + t^{2}} + t} \right\}$

in which an additional t term causes offers with low lead times to beranked as more attractive.

Referring to the equations referenced above where p and t are beingadded to each other, the units of p may be dollars (i.e., 1 dollarincrements) and the units of t may be days (i.e., 1 day increments) asnoted above. For example, a first electronic component having a unitcost of $5 and a lead time of five days might be evaluated according tothe “best offer” criterion as √(5{circumflex over ( )}2+5{circumflexover ( )}2)≈7 while a second electronic component having a unit cost of$4 and a lead time of seven days might be evaluated as √(4{circumflexover ( )}2+7{circumflex over ( )}2)≈8, indicating that the firstelectronic component is the more attractive offer. On the other hand, ifthe units of p is 20-cent increments and the units of t is 5-dayincrements, the same two electronic components might be evaluated as√(25{circumflex over ( )}2+1{circumflex over ( )}2)≈25 and√(20{circumflex over ( )}2+1.4{circumflex over ( )}2)≈20, indicatingthat the second electronic component is the more attractive offer. Thus,in order to change the relative importance of unit price and lead timewhen evaluating the “best offer” and other criteria, the price and timeunits can be adjusted to change the relative emphasis of unit price andlead time in determining which offers are more or less attractive. Forexample, using a larger lead time unit would result in a smallerquantity of that unit and effectively deemphasize lead time so that theprice would play more of a factor in determining the best offer, andvice versa. Also, using a larger price unit would result in a smallerquantity of that unit and effectively deemphasize price so that the leadtime would play more of a factor in determining the best offer, and viceversa. While the preferred units are dollars and days as noted above, itis contemplated that price units might vary, e.g. between 1-centincrements and $100 increments, and that time units might vary, e.g.between 0.5 day-increments and 30 day-increments. Alternatively, oradditionally, weighting coefficients w₁, w₂, etc. may be added to theabove formulas in front of each term (e.g. √(w₁p{circumflex over( )}2+w₂t{circumflex over ( )}2)+w₃t), where the coefficients may beadjusted to emphasize or deemphasize individual terms of the formulas.

It is further contemplated that the selection of a ranking criterion maybe indicated in some intuitive way in the offer matrix region 110 of theelectronic component sourcing GUI 100. For example, in a case where a“best offer” criterion minimizes a value representing a distance of eachdata point from a point on a Cartesian plane such as the origin,selection of the “best offer criterion” using the ranking criterionselector 148 may cause a diagonal line to be drawn in the offer matrixregion 110 between this point and each data point 113 (or between thispoint and the most attractive data point according to the “best offer”criterion). As another example, selection of a lowest unit pricecriterion may cause a vertical line to be drawn to one or more datapoints 113 from the lead time axis 112 such that the length of the lineillustrates the unit price. As another example, selection of a shortestlead time criterion may cause a horizontal line to be drawn to one ormore data points 113 from the price axis 111 such that the length of theline illustrates the lead time. Other ranking criteria such as “bestoffer by unit price” or “best offer by lead time” may be intuitivelyillustrated with a combination a diagonal line (as in the case of “bestoffer”) and a vertical or horizontal line (as in the case of lowest unitprice or shortest lead time, respectively). By seeing such intuitiverepresentation of the selected ranking criterion in the offer matrixregion 110, a user may be able to more easily grasp why a particular setof data points 113 was returned by the electronic component sourcing GUI100.

FIG. 3 shows an example electronic component sourcing apparatus 300according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electroniccomponent sourcing apparatus 300 may be a server a combination ofnetworked servers that interacts with a web browser or mobileapplication of a customer device 400 in order to generate the electroniccomponent sourcing GUI 100 described above. The electronic componentsourcing apparatus 300 may include a user I/O interface 310, a matrixgenerator 320, an algorithm data storage 330, an offer data storage 340,a purchase order panel updater 350, and an offer list updater 360.

The user I/O interface 310 may receive data from and transmit data to aweb browser or mobile application of a customer device 400. Input datamay include, for example, user interaction data of a user with theelectronic component sourcing GUI 100, such as the selection of aselected data point 113 a, selection of filters (including rankingcriteria) in the filter panel 140, entry of a purchase order quantity ina quantity input field 123, 133, or interaction with an “Add to cart”button 125, 135. Input data my further include a search query, partnumber entry, sourcing request, preference selection, login information,or other data entered on a previous screen of the electronic componentsourcing GUI 100, in response to which the electronic component sourcingapparatus 300 may display the elements of the electronic componentsourcing GUI 100 described in relation to FIGS. 1 and 2. Output data ofthe user I/O interface 310 may include data to be interpreted by a webbrowser or mobile application in the generation of a display inaccordance with the electronic component sourcing GUI 100 describedherein. In this regard, it should be noted that the terms “displaying,”“plotting,” “populating,” etc. as used herein with respect to elementsof the electronic component sourcing GUI 100 may include the outputtingof data from the user I/O interface 310 or another component of theelectronic component sourcing apparatus 300 for use by a customer device400.

Based on the input data received by the user I/O interface 310, thematrix generator 320 may return an offer matrix of data points 113. Forexample, the offer data storage 340 may store offer data (e.g. catalogdata) from many vendors worldwide, including, for each electroniccomponent offered by the vendor, unit price, lead time, and any otherinformation to be displayed by the electronic component sourcing GUI 100(e.g. price breaks, minimum order quantity, minimum packaging quantity,packaging type, date code, etc.). When a user of a customer device 400requests sourcing information for a particular electronic component, thematrix generator 320 may query the offer data storage 340 for therequested electronic component and return all offers for that electroniccomponent or a subset of the offers (e.g. initially limited to apredetermined number of offers by a default ranking criterion such as“best offer”) for display on the customer device 400. Based on the unitprice and lead time of each returned offer, the matrix generator 320 mayoutput data representative of display parameters for a price axis 111, atime axis 112, and a plurality of data points 113 as shown in FIG. 1.The matrix generator 320 may include a scale module 322, a filter module324, and a data point selection module 326.

The scale module 322 may evaluate the set of returned offers todetermine how best to display the data points 113 in the offer matrixregion 110 of the electronic component sourcing GUI 100 such that thedata points 113 may be discernible to the user's eye. For example, in acase where there is a relatively small difference between lowest andhighest unit prices or between shortest and longest lead times, thescale module 322 may adjust the scale of the corresponding axis to avoidclumping of data points 113. As another example, in a case where thedifferences between unit prices or lead times are much less than theabsolute values thereof, the scale module may create a break in thecorresponding axis or generate an off-zero intersection point of theaxes in order to produce a view that is appropriately zoomed in on thedata points 113.

The filter module 324 may modify the returned set of offers and/or thequery to the offer data storage 340 to limit the displayed data points113 in accordance with any filters and ranking criteria applied by theuser. For example, the matrix generator 320 may have already queried theoffer data storage 340 for a requested electronic component and returneda subset of the offers (e.g. the 10 most attractive offers according toa default “best offer” criterion) for display on the customer device400. When the user of the customer device 400 applies one or morefilters 141, 142, 143, 144, 145 using the apply filters button 146, thefilter module 324 may receive data indicative of the applied filtersfrom the user I/O interface 310, apply corresponding constraints to thequery, and instruct the matrix generator 320 to again query the offerdata storage 340, this time with the added constraints imposed by theone or more filters 141, 142, 143, 144, 145. Based on the newly returnedset of offers, the matrix generator 320 may again output data for theprice axis 111, time axis 112, and plurality of data points 113including any adjustments made by the scale module 322 in light of thenew set of offers. When the user removes all filters using the resetfilters button 147, the filter module 324 may remove the constraintsfrom the query and instruct the matrix generator 320 to query the offerdata storage 340 without the constraints, the output of the matrixgenerator 320 changing accordingly.

When the user selects a new ranking criterion (e.g. lowest unit price)using the ranking criterion selector 148, the filter module 324 mayreceive data indicative of the selected ranking criterion from the userI/O interface 310 and apply corresponding constraints to the query to bemade to the offer data storage 340 (e.g. return only the 10 offers withthe lowest price). To this end, the filter module 324 may reference thealgorithm data storage 330 for a corresponding algorithm to determinethe appropriate constraints. For example, the algorithm data storage 330may store a look-up table of algorithms for each selection in theranking criterion selector 148. For example, in a case where the userhas chosen the “best offer” criterion or where the “best offer”criterion is chosen by default, the filter module 324 may find, in thealgorithm data storage 330, a corresponding algorithm to calculate aspecified function of unit price and lead time for each offer in theoffer data storage 340 and return a predetermined number (e.g. 10) ofoffers having the lowest function value as described above. Thepredetermined number of offers to return may also be stored in thealgorithm data storage 330.

In some embodiments, the algorithms and/or the predetermined number ofoffers may be adjusted by user preference, either on a per query basis(e.g. using a preferences button in the filter menu 140) or as apreference associated with the particular user (e.g. using a preferencesbutton on a user profile page of the electronic component sourcing GUI100). It is further contemplated that the algorithm data storage 330 maybe automatically and continually updated by the filter module 324 usingmachine learning as described above. For instance, when a user makes apurchase order, the filter module 324 may compare the user's actuallypurchased offer with the offer that would be the “best offer” accordingto the algorithm associated with the “best offer” criterion. Based onsuch feedback, the filter module 324 may modify the algorithm associatedwith the “best offer” criterion (e.g. by adjusting price units and timeunits and/or the form of a function defined by the algorithm) in orderto better predict which offers will actually be considered the best bythe user. For example, a registered user of the electronic componentsourcing apparatus 300 may securely log in via a web browser or mobileapplication, and the filter module 324 may store the modified algorithmin the algorithm data storage 330 with respect to the specific logged inuser. In this way, the filter module 324 and algorithm data storage 330may be used to tailor the ranking criteria to a particular user'spurchasing habits. It is also contemplated that the number of offers ordata points may be fixed, predetermined or hard coded into the programso as to provide the same numbers of offers or data points 113 to everyuser of the software. Optionally, the number of offers or data points113 is not be variable based on an algorithm or other sort ofcustomization or adjustment.

Having applied the appropriate constraints to the query based on thealgorithm associated with the new ranking criterion, the filter module324 may instruct the matrix generator 320 to again query the offer datastorage 340. Based on the newly returned set of offers, the matrixgenerator 320 may again output data for the price axis 111, time axis112, and plurality of data points 113 including any adjustments made bythe scale module 322 in light of the new set of offers. In this way, theoffer data retrieved from the offer data storage 340 may be filteredboth according to selected filters 141, 142, 143, 144, 145 and adesignated ranking criterion from the ranking criterion selector 148 toproduce the data points 113 of the offer matrix.

The data point selection module 326 may receive the user's selection ora default selection of one of the data points 113 (i.e. a selected datapoint 113 a) and output data for the display of a circle, highlight, orother mark on the selected data point 113 a. In this regard, a defaultselection of one of the data points 113 may be, for example, the datapoint associated with the most attractive offer according to thecurrently selected ranking criterion (e.g. “best offer,” lowest price,shortest lead time, etc.), such that the selected data point 113 aautomatically changes as the user changes the selected ranking criterionusing the ranking criterion selector 148. The data point selectionmodule 326 may further output data indicative of the selected data point113 a to the purchase order panel updater 350 and the offer list updater360. As described above, each of the data points 113 may be displayed ina different color (or with another distinguishing characteristic), e.g.in accordance with a palette 114. Such color data may be included withthe output data of the matrix generator 320 as part of the data for thedisplay of the electronic component sourcing GUI 100. The data pointselection module 326 may additionally attach the color data (or otherdata associated with a distinguishing characteristic) of the selecteddata point 113 a to the data to be output to the purchase order panelupdater 350. In this way, the color or other characteristic may bereplicated in the selected offer bubble or other element 122 of thepurchase order panel 120 by the purchase order panel updater 350.

The purchase order panel updater 350 may output data representative ofdisplay parameters for the purchase order panel 120 as shown in FIG. 1.As described above, the selection of a data point 113, either manuallyor by default, may cause the purchase order panel 120 to populate withthe information of the offer corresponding to the selected data point113 a. To this end, the purchase order panel updater 350 may receive theoffer data of the selected data point 113 a from the matrix generator320 (e.g. the data point selection module 326) and output the displaydata accordingly. If the data received from the matrix generator 320includes color data as described above, the display data output by thepurchase order panel updater 350 may include data to replicate the color(or other distinguishing characteristic) of the selected data point 113a in the element 122 of the purchase order panel 120. In this way, theuser may easily understand, at a glance, which of the offers currentlyoccupies the purchase order panel 120.

The offer list updater 360 may output data representative of displayparameters for the offer list 130 as shown in FIG. 1. As describedabove, the selection of a data point 113, either manually or by default,may cause the list item indicator 132 to move correspondingly throughthe offer list 130 to be positioned on a list item corresponding to theoffer associated with the selected data point 113 a. To this end, theoffer list updater 360 may receive the offer data of the selected datapoint 113 a from the matrix generator 320 (e.g. the data point selectionmodule 326) and output the display data accordingly.

As described above, the user I/O interface 310 may output data to beinterpreted by a web browser or mobile application in the generation ofa display in accordance with the electronic component sourcing GUI 100described herein. Such data may include data for displaying the offermatrix region 110 output by the matrix generator 320, data fordisplaying the purchase order panel 120 output by the purchase orderpanel updater 350, and data for displaying the offer list 130 output bythe offer list updater 360, as well as various other data for displayingother static and dynamic elements of the electronic component sourcingGUI 100, including, for example, the filter menu 140, a help button 115,etc. By communicating such data to a web browser or mobile applicationof a customer device 400 (e.g. over a network such as the Internet), theelectronic component sourcing apparatus 300 may be regarded asgenerating, updating, displaying, plotting, populating, etc. the variouselements of the electronic component sourcing GUI 100.

FIG. 4 shows an example operational flow according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. Referring by way of example to the electroniccomponent sourcing GUI 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the electroniccomponent sourcing apparatus 300 shown in FIG. 3, the electroniccomponent sourcing apparatus 300 may, in any order or simultaneously inwhole or in part, display a price axis 111 (step 410), display a leadtime axis 112 (step 420), plot data points 113 with respect to the axes(step 430), display a filter menu 140 (step 440), display an offer list130 (step 450), position an indicator 132 with respect to an item of theoffer list 130 (step 460), display a purchase order panel 120 (step470), and populate the purchase order panel 120 with offer informationcorresponding to a selected data point 113 a (step 480). As noted above,the above steps may be preceded by and in response to a search query,part number entry, sourcing request, preference selection, logininformation, or other data entered on a previous screen of theelectronic component sourcing GUI 100.

For example, in an exemplary use case, a registered user may log in on awebsite using his/her personal computer 400. By logging in, the user maybe able to take advantage of features available to registered users,which might include, for example, viewing past electronic componentsearches conducted by the user, viewing and/or modifying a personallytailored “best offer” criterion or other ranking criterion for filteringoffer data (including number of returned offers), and saving variousdisplay preferences (e.g. which colors or other distinguishingcharacteristics are defined by the palette 114). The user may begin anew search by entering a part number or other identifying information ofan electronic component of interest (e.g. typing in one or more partnumbers separated by commas, uploading a bill of materials, etc.) andmaking a request to view an offer matrix for the electronic component.Such a request to view an offer matrix may be made, for example, byclicking a button to “view all offers” on a search results page afterverifying that a search result correctly matches the electroniccomponent of interest. In response to such request, the electroniccomponent sourcing apparatus 300 may initially perform steps 410-480with respect to the electronic component of interest using defaultsettings of the filter menu 140 (e.g. no filters 141, 142, 143, 144, 145applied and a default “best offer” ranking criterion associated with theuser). The user may be taken to a screen of the electronic componentsourcing GUI 100 similar to the screen shown in FIG. 1, possibly with aselected data point 113 a having been chosen automatically by default(e.g. the most appealing offer according to a default “best offer”criterion). The position indicator 132 may thus be positioned on thecorresponding data point (step 460) and the purchase order panel 120 maybe populated with the information of the corresponding offer (step 480).

While viewing the information on the screen, the user may wish to selecta different data point 113 either located in the palette 114 or theoffer matrix region 110 or a different item of the offer list 130. Inresponse, the electronic component sourcing apparatus 300 may reperformstep 460 to reposition the indicator 132 on a new list item and/or step480 to populate the purchase order panel 120 with the newly selectedoffer information, as well as update the offer matrix region 110 to movethe circle or other marking to the newly selected data point 113 a. Ifthe user feels that the displayed offers are too limited or tooinclusive, the user may apply or remove filters using the filter menu140, including choosing a different ranking criterion (e.g. lowestprice, shortest lead time, etc.) using the ranking criterion selector148. In response to the user's interaction with the filter menu 140, theelectronic component sourcing apparatus 300 may reperform steps 430 and450 to plot new data points 113 and corresponding list items, as well aspossibly reperforming steps 410 and 420 to display new axes 111, 112 toproduce a better view of the new set of data points 113.

When the user is finally ready to proceed with a purchase, the user mayinteract with either the quantity input field 123 and “Add to cart”button 125 of the purchase order panel 120 or the quantity input field132 and “Add to cart” button 135 of the offer list 130 to proceed with apurchase of an entered quantity from a selected vendor. Depending on thearrangement between the vendor and the service provider of theelectronic component sourcing GUI 100 (who may function as amarketplace, for example), the “Add to cart” button may, for example,begin a process of placing an order with the service provider of theelectronic component sourcing GUI 100, begin a process of placing anorder directly with the vendor, link to an external website of a vendor,etc.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a computer 500 in which the electroniccomponent sourcing apparatus 300 of FIG. 3, the operational flow of FIG.4, and/or other embodiments of the disclosure may be wholly or partlyembodied. As shown in FIG. 5, the computer 500 may include a processor(e.g. a CPU) 510, a system memory (e.g. RAM) 520 that may be connectedto the processor 510 by a dedicated memory channel and temporarilystores results of data processing operations performed by the processor510, and a secondary storage device 530 such as a hard drive. Theprocessor 510 may execute one or more computer programs, which may betangibly embodied along with an operating system in a computer-readablemedium, e.g., the secondary storage device 530. The operating system andthe computer programs may be loaded from the secondary storage device530 into the system memory 520 to be executed by the processor 510. Thecomputer 500 may further include a network interface 540 for networkcommunication (e.g. over the Internet) between the computer 500 andexternal devices, such as customer devices 400 accessing the electroniccomponent sourcing GUI 100 described throughout this disclosure using amobile application or web browser. Server-side user interaction with thecomputer 500 may make use of one or more I/O devices 550, such as adisplay, mouse, keyboard, etc.

The computer programs may comprise program instructions which, whenexecuted by the processor 510, cause the processor 510 to performoperations in accordance with the various embodiments of the presentdisclosure. For example, a program that is installed in the computer 500may cause the computer 500 to function as an apparatus such as theelectronic component sourcing apparatus 300 of FIG. 3, e.g., causing thecomputer 500 to function as some or all of the sections, components,elements, databases, engines, interfaces, modules, updaters, etc. of theapparatus 300 of FIG. 3 (e.g., the user I/O interface 310, the matrixgenerator 320, etc.). A program that is installed in the computer 500may also cause the computer 500 to perform an operational flow such asthat shown in FIG. 4 or a portion thereof, e.g., causing the computer500 to perform one or more of the steps of FIG. 4 (e.g., display priceaxis 410, display lead time axis 420, plot data points 430, etc.).

The above-mentioned program may be provided to the secondary storage 530by or otherwise reside on an external computer-readable medium such as aDVD-ROM, an optical recording medium such as a CD or Blu-ray Disk, amagneto-optic recording medium such as an MO, a tape medium, amechanically encoded medium such as a punch card, a semiconductor memorysuch as an IC card, etc. Other examples of computer-readable media thatmay store programs in relation to the disclosed embodiments include ahard disk or RAM in a server system connected to a communication networksuch as a dedicated network or the Internet, with the program beingprovided to the computer 500 via the network. Such program storage mediamay, in some embodiments, be non-transitory, thus excluding transitorysignals per se, such as radio waves or other electromagnetic waves.Examples of program instructions stored on a computer-readable mediummay include, in addition to code executable by a processor, stateinformation for execution by programmable circuitry such as afield-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or programmable logic array (PLA).

In the above description of the electronic component sourcing GUI 100,electronic component sourcing apparatus 300, and operational flow 400,it is described that an offer matrix of data points 113 may be presentedto the user (e.g. returned based on a query to an offer data storage340) in response to an initial electronic component sourcing request,and that the offer matrix may change to include new data points 113 asthe user applies filters, adjusts ranking criteria, etc. It is furthercontemplated that the offer matrix may also change to include new datapoints 113 when the user enters a quantity in the quantity input field123 of the purchase offer panel 120 or the quantity input field 133 ofthe offer list 130. For example, in a case where the entered quantitysurpasses a quantity defined by the price breaks 131, a volume discountmay affect the unit price associated with the offers in the offer datastorage 340, potentially resulting in a different set of data points 113responsive to the user's query.

In the example of FIG. 1, the offer list 130 is positioned below theoffer matrix region 110 with the purchase order panel 120 positioned tothe right-hand side of the offer matrix region 110. However, theelectronic component sourcing GUI 100 is not limited to this specificarrangement. For example, the purchase order panel 120 may be positionedto the left-hand side of the offer matrix region 110, above the offermatrix region 110, below the offer matrix region 110, or diagonally withrespect to the offer matrix region 110. Likewise, the offer list 310 maybe positioned above the offer matrix region 110, to the right-hand sideof the offer matrix region 110, to the left-hand side of the offermatrix region 110, or diagonally with respect to the offer matrix region110.

As described above with respect to FIG. 2, each of the data points 113may be a different color (or have a different distinguishingcharacteristic), with the current set of colors etc. displayed in apalette 114, the palette 114 in some cases being adjustable by a user.It is further contemplated that the arrangement of colors in the palette114 may be a recognizable sequence such as a rainbow sequence or asequence of increasing or decreasing brightness, saturation, colorvalue, pattern density, etc. The data points 113 may then be color-codedsuch that the sequence of colors reflects the ranking of the data points113 according to the selected ranking criterion (e.g. the number one“best offer” red, the next “best offer” orange, etc.).

As described above, the filter menu 140 may allow filtering using acombination of basic filters that act in a binary fashion (i.e. theoffer either meets the filter condition or does not) and rankingcriteria. In this regard, it is contemplated that any of the basicfilters described above may additionally or alternatively serve asranking criteria and vice versa. For example, a basic filter may beapplied to exclude offers with lead times or unit prices above aspecified threshold or a ranking criterion may be applied to rank offersby user reviews or by vendor type (e.g. manufacturer direct beforefranchised distributor).

Throughout the above description of the electronic component sourcingGUI 100, reference is made to various means of user interaction,including clicks, taps, etc. The disclosure is not intended to belimited to such specific interactions and any known user-deviceinteractions may be applicable, including but not limited to keyboard,mouse, touch, gesture, voice, eye-tracking, etc.

The disclosed embodiments, including the GUI 100, apparatus 300, andoperational flow 400 are described in relation to electronic componentsourcing, where each data point 113 represents a vendor's offer to sellan electronic component. However, the disclosure is not intended to belimited to this particular business scenario. Transactions other thansales (e.g. leases, rentals, service uses, etc.) are contemplated, asare transactions involving products or services other than electroniccomponents, such as mechanical parts, cleaning or maintenance services,etc.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation.Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devisevariations that are within the scope and spirit of the inventiondisclosed herein. Further, the various features of the embodimentsdisclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with eachother and are not intended to be limited to the specific combinationdescribed herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited bythe illustrated embodiments.

1. (canceled)
 2. (canceled)
 3. (canceled)
 4. The system of claim 21wherein each item of the offer list includes a display of any pricebreaks associated with the corresponding offer.
 5. The system of claim21 wherein each item of the offer list further includes a purchase orderquantity input field and a display of a subtotal that is calculated inresponse to a quantity entered by a user in the purchase order quantityinput field, the calculation of the subtotal taking into account anyprice breaks associated with the corresponding offer.
 6. (canceled) 7.(canceled)
 8. (canceled)
 9. (canceled)
 10. The system of claim 23wherein the operations further comprise displaying a filter menu bywhich a user of the graphical user interface may limit the plurality ofdata points in accordance with one or more chosen filters.
 11. Thesystem of claim 10 wherein the filter menu includes one or more filtersselected from the group consisting of full factory packaging, partialfactory packaging, manufacturer direct vendor, franchised distributorvendor, stock delivery, lead time delivery, tape and reel packaging, cuttape packaging, tray packaging, tube packaging, ammo packaging, bulkpackaging, and manufacturing date code more than two years old.
 12. Thesystem of claim 10 wherein the plurality of data points is limited to apredetermined number in accordance with a selected ranking criterion.13. A system for generating a graphical user interface for electroniccomponent sourcing, the system comprising: a server in communicationwith a user device; and a program storage medium on which are storedinstructions executable by the server to perform operations forgenerating a graphical user interface for electronic component sourcing,the graphical user interface accessible by the user device via a webbrowser or mobile application of the user device, the operationsincluding: displaying a first axis marked in units of price; displayinga second axis marked in units of time, the second axis perpendicular tothe first axis; plotting a plurality of data points with respect to thefirst axis and the second axis, each of the plurality of data pointscorresponding to an offer to sell the electronic component and definingan ordered pair having a first value, plotted along the first axis,representative of a unit price of the electronic component and a secondvalue, plotted along the second axis, representative of a lead timeassociated with purchasing the electronic component; displaying apurchase order panel, adjacent to the first and second axes, by which auser of the graphical user interface may initiate a purchase of theelectronic component accorded to a selected offer; wherein the pluralityof data points is limited to a predetermined number in accordance with aselected ranking criteria and the filter menu allows the user todesignate the selected ranking criterion from among one or more rankingcriteria.
 14. The system of claim 13 wherein the one or more rankingcriteria include lowest unit price and shortest lead time.
 15. Thesystem of claim 14 wherein the one or more ranking criteria furtherinclude a best offer criterion that is a function of unit price and leadtime.
 16. The system of claim 10 wherein the operations further compriseadjusting the first axis and the second axis to accommodate a change inthe plurality of data points in response to a user interaction with thefilter menu.
 17. (canceled)
 18. (canceled)
 19. (canceled)
 20. (canceled)21. A system for generating a graphical user interface for electroniccomponent sourcing, the system comprising: a server in communicationwith a user device; and a program storage medium on which are storedinstructions executable by the server to perform operations forgenerating a graphical user interface for electronic component sourcing,the graphical user interface accessible by the user device via a webbrowser or mobile application of the user device, the operationsincluding: displaying an offer list, each item of the offer listincludes a purchase order quantity input field; wherein each item of theoffer list includes a display of a minimum order quantity associatedwith the corresponding item of the offer list, and the purchase orderquantity input field prevents entry of a quantity that violates theminimum order quantity associated with the corresponding item of theoffer list.
 22. A system for generating a graphical user interface forelectronic component sourcing, the system comprising: a server incommunication with a user device; and a program storage medium on whichare stored instructions executable by the server to perform operationsfor generating a graphical user interface for electronic componentsourcing, the graphical user interface accessible by the user device viaa web browser or mobile application of the user device, the operationsincluding: displaying an offer list, each item of the offer listincludes a purchase order quantity input field; wherein each item of theoffer list includes a display of a minimum packaging quantity associatedwith the corresponding item of the offer list, and the purchase orderquantity input field prevents entry of a quantity that violates theminimum packaging quantity associated with the corresponding item of theoffer list.
 23. A system for generating a graphical user interface forelectronic component sourcing, the system comprising: a server incommunication with a user device; and a program storage medium on whichare stored instructions executable by the server to perform operationsfor generating a graphical user interface for electronic componentsourcing, the graphical user interface accessible by the user device viaa web browser or mobile application of the user device, the operationsincluding: displaying a first axis marked in units of price; displayinga second axis marked in units of time, the second axis perpendicular tothe first axis; plotting a plurality of data points with respect to thefirst axis and the second axis, each of the plurality of data pointscorresponding to an offer to sell the electronic component and definingan ordered pair having a first value, plotted along the first axis,representative of a unit price of the electronic component and a secondvalue, plotted along the second axis, representative of a lead timeassociated with purchasing the electronic component; displaying apurchase order panel, adjacent to the first and second axes, by which auser of the graphical user interface may initiate a purchase of theelectronic component according to a selected offer; populating thepurchase order panel with the unit price of the electronic componentaccording to the selected offer in response to a user interaction with acorresponding one of the data point; wherein the purchase order panelincludes a display of a minimum order quantity associated with theselected offer, and a purchase order quantity input field of theselected offer prevents entry of a quantity that violates the minimumorder quantity.
 24. A system for generating a graphical user interfacefor electronic component sourcing, the system comprising: a server incommunication with a user device; and a program storage medium on whichare stored instructions executable by the server to perform operationsfor generating a graphical user interface for electronic componentsourcing, the graphical user interface accessible by the user device viaa web browser or mobile application of the user device, the operationsincluding: displaying a first axis marked in units of price; displayinga second axis marked in units of time, the second axis perpendicular tothe first axis; plotting a plurality of data points with respect to thefirst axis and the second axis, each of the plurality of data pointscorresponding to an offer to sell the electronic component and definingan ordered pair having a first value, plotted along the first axis,representative of a unit price of the electronic component and a secondvalue, plotted along the second axis, representative of a lead timeassociated with purchasing the electronic component; displaying apurchase order panel, adjacent to the first and second axes, by which auser of the graphical user interface may initiate a purchase of theelectronic component according to a selected offer; populating thepurchase order panel with the unit price of the electronic componentaccording to the selected offer in response to a user interaction with acorresponding one of the data point; wherein the purchase order panelincludes a display of a minimum packaging quantity associated with theselected offer, and a purchase order quantity input field of theselected offer prevents entry of a quantity that violates the minimumpackaging quantity.
 25. A method of generating a graphical userinterface for electronic component sourcing, the method comprising:displaying an offer list, each item of the offer list includes apurchase order quantity input field; wherein each item of the offer listincludes a display of a minimum order quantity associated with thecorresponding offer, and the purchase order quantity input fieldprevents entry of a quantity that violates the minimum order quantityassociated with the corresponding offer.
 26. A method of generating agraphical user interface for electronic component sourcing, the methodcomprising: displaying an offer list, each item of the offer listincludes a purchase order quantity input field and corresponds to one ofthe plurality of data points; wherein each item of the offer listincludes a display of a minimum packaging quantity associated with thecorresponding offer, and the purchase order quantity input fieldprevents entry of a quantity that violates the minimum packagingquantity associated with the corresponding offer.
 27. A method ofgenerating a graphical user interface for electronic component sourcing,the method comprising: displaying a first axis marked in units of price;displaying a second axis marked in units of time, the second axisperpendicular to the first axis; plotting a plurality of data pointswith respect to the first axis and the second axis, each of theplurality of data points corresponding to an offer to sell theelectronic component and defining an ordered pair having a first value,plotted along the first axis, representative of a unit price of theelectronic component and a second value, plotted along the second axis,representative of a lead time associated with purchasing the electroniccomponent; displaying a purchase order panel, adjacent to the first andsecond axes, by which a user of the graphical user interface mayinitiate a purchase of the electronic component according to a selectedoffer; populating the purchase order panel with the unit price of theelectronic component according to the selected offer in response to auser interaction with a corresponding one of the data points; whereinthe purchase order panel further includes a display of a minimum orderquantity associated with the selected offer, and a purchase orderquantity input field of the selected offer prevents entry of a quantitythat violates the minimum order quantity.
 28. A method of generating agraphical user interface for electronic component sourcing, the methodcomprising: displaying a first axis marked in units of price; displayinga second axis marked in units of time, the second axis perpendicular tothe first axis; plotting a plurality of data points with respect to thefirst axis and the second axis, each of the plurality of data pointscorresponding to an offer to sell the electronic component and definingan ordered pair having a first value, plotted along the first axis,representative of a unit price of the electronic component and a secondvalue, plotted along the second axis, representative of a lead timeassociated with purchasing the electronic component; displaying apurchase order panel, adjacent to the first and second axes, by which auser of the graphical user interface may initiate a purchase of theelectronic component according to a selected offer; populating thepurchase order panel with the unit price of the electronic componentaccording to the selected offer in response to a user interaction with acorresponding one of the data points; wherein the purchase order panelfurther includes a display of a minimum packaging quantity associatedwith the selected offer, and a purchase order quantity input field ofthe selected offer prevents entry of a quantity that violates theminimum packaging quantity.
 29. A method of generating a graphical userinterface for electronic component sourcing, the method comprising:displaying a first axis marked in units of price; displaying a secondaxis marked in units of time, the second axis perpendicular to the firstaxis; plotting a plurality of data points with respect to the first axisand the second axis, each of the plurality of data points correspondingto an offer to sell the electronic component and defining an orderedpair having a first value, plotted along the first axis, representativeof a unit price of the electronic component and a second value, plottedalong the second axis, representative of a lead time associated withpurchasing the electronic component; displaying a purchase order panel,adjacent to the first and second axes, by which a user of the graphicaluser interface may initiate a purchase of the electronic componentaccorded to a selected offer; wherein the plurality of data points islimited to a predetermined number in accordance with a selected rankingcriteria and the filter menu allows the user to designate the selectedranking criterion from among one or more ranking criteria.